Former Today Show host Billy Bush has joined Fox News as a contributor, marking his return to cable television a decade after his career faced a major setback due to a controversial 2005 recording involving Donald Trump. Bush made his debut on Jesse Watters Primetime on Tuesday night and will appear across all Fox platforms, according to the network. In a statement, Bush expressed excitement about joining Fox News Media and sharing his perspective on current cultural issues, as well as those he believes are working against them. The hiring comes ten years after Bush lost his role as an anchor on NBC’s Today Show following the release of a three-minute video. The clip, recorded on the set of Days of Our Lives while Bush was hosting Access Hollywood, showed Trump making crude remarks about women and bragging about inappropriate physical contact. Bush was heard laughing at the comments. The recording was published by The Washington Post shortly before the 2016 presidential election and became a major point of controversy during Trump’s campaign. After the video surfaced, Bush issued a statement saying he was “embarrassed and ashamed” of his conduct. In a 2017 New York Times essay, he addressed later claims that Trump questioned the authenticity of the recording. Bush wrote that he and Trump had “laughed along” at the time, without doubt that the comments were “hypothetical hot air” from Trump. In the same piece, he acknowledged the experiences of women who accused Trump of misconduct, saying he could not fully understand their fear but expressed empathy for the anguish of being associated with Trump. More than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. In 2023, a New York federal jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, awarding her nearly $90 million in damages. Trump is currently appealing the verdict. Bush, 54, is a nephew of former President George H.W. Bush and a cousin of former President George W. Bush. After leaving Today Show, he hosted the syndicated program Extra for five years and later launched the podcast Hot Mics With Billy Bush.